Carlos Alcaraz has hit back at “unfair” claims that he should have stepped up and won more tournaments during Jannik Sinner’s three-month suspension. Both Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had opportunities to close the gap with Sinner in the rankings and even fight for his world No. 1 ranking. But both men have suffered shock early exits over the last few weeks.
The Spaniard has claimed that the pressure of returning to the top spot “killed” him, even though he was happy with the level he showed in his recent tournaments. Alcaraz will now put the rankings stress behind him as he bids to win a match at the Monte-Carlo Masters for the first time.
When Sinner accepted a three-month ban in a case resolution agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency in February, Alcaraz and Zverev looked primed to benefit from his absence.
However, in the five tournaments Zverev has played since the Australian Open in January, he has failed to get beyond the quarter-final. Meanwhile, Alcaraz suffered disappointing defeats in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami.
Despite losing over a thousand ranking points since his ban kicked in, Sinner remains No. 1 in both the rankings and the race, with none of his rivals able to surpass him. But Alcaraz has now claimed it wasn’t fair to assume that he would win everything in the Italian’s absence.
Speaking ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters on Sunday, the world No. 3 said: “Probably a lot of people thought for the top players, like for myself or Sascha, that if Jannik is not there, we should have played better tennis or we should have won many tournaments.
“But I don’t think that’s fair. Right now, I think the draws in every tournament are really open. A lot of players are playing a really good tennis and they deserve to be there as well.
“People always say that we have to win the tournaments or the top [players] have to be there all the time playing finals or winning tournaments. So I’m not surprised about it.
“But yeah, a lot of people are asking me or are telling me that I have the chance to become the No. 1 if Jannik is not playing. So probably that pressure had killed me in some way.”
Sinner will return in time for next month’s Italian Open and will compete in the next Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, as usual. As the reigning champion at Roland Garros, Alcaraz knows he can no longer overtake his rival and is excited to play without pressure.
“So I’m just thinking, I think I’m not able to become No. 1 so in the clay season even if Jannik is not playing, I don’t have the chance to do it,” he added.
“I think I’m just I’m too far from Jannik, so I’m just here and I’ve realised that I don’t have to think about it. I just go there and play. That’s my mindset right now.”
Although he’s faced some tough losses – including an opening-round exit in Miami – Alcaraz is still feeling positive about my game.
“About my tennis, I’m really happy about the way I’m playing since I started the year, I always say that that I’ve been playing a great tennis,” he explained.
“I think it’s something apart from tennis, I think tennis is not just hitting the ball, it’s more about that, mentally, physically, you have to feel well.
“But talking about my game and my tennis, I’m really happy about it. If I don’t win, it doesn’t matter if I play well or not. The people are not thinking about the opponent, they are just thinking about me. If I lose, [they think] something is going on.”
Alcaraz will hope to turn things around at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He is competing in the tournament for the first time since 2022 when he lost his opening match to Sebastian Korda on his debut. “It’s kind of a weird feeling that I just played once, didn’t get the win yet here,” he smiled.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk